A private/public partnership is moving ahead with a long-term effort to reshape South Carolina’s economy and ultimately raise the per-capita income of the state’s citizens.

The S.C. Economic Competitiveness Steering Committee has decided to implement the recommendations of Harvard competitiveness guru Michael Porter.

“In the past, economic development was considered the purview of the government and not so much the private sector,” said Don Herriott, president of Roche Carolina in Florence and chairman of the steering committee. “One of the big shifts is that the private sector has to carry a lot of the water in the new world of economic development.”

S.C. Secretary of Commerce Bob Faith said: “We’re really not talking about economic development of the old style, where government was the lead and incentives was the only game to try and lure somebody here.

“We are really talking about changing the fabric of our economy.”

The committee will retain the Monitor Group, the consulting firm co-founded by Porter, to help implement Phase II of the S.C. Competitiveness Initiative.

Phase I of the initiative — the study and recommendations done by the Monitor Group — was unveiled by Porter on Dec. 8 in a presentation to 450 of the state’s business, government and academic leaders.

The steering committee will raise money to fund the Monitor Group’s work in implementing the plan.

Phase II of the study will cost between $400,000 and $500,000, and most of the money will come from the private sector, Herriott said.

The private sector also raised most of the money for the study, which cost slightly more than $400,000, Herriott said.

Faith said he will wait to see what happens with the private funding for Phase II. “But I believe this is such an important effort that if we have to fill any gaps, we will find it in our budget”

A six-person executive committee will begin working immediately to form an S.C. Council on Competitiveness.

The council, which was Porter’s key recommendation, will be composed of 30 to 40 government, business and academic leaders. It will develop a long-term competitive strategy and action plan to carry out the eight campaigns outlined by Porter, Herriott said.

Porter recommended Gov. Mark Sanford and a business leader act as co-chairmen of the committee.

Sanford is excited about the possibility of helping lead the council, Faith said.

“The governor recognizes it is important to have private sector involvement along with the public sector. At the end of the day, that is the name of the game,” Faith said.

“What I have told the governor is that the governor of our state has to be personally involved in economic development for us to be successful,” Herriott said.

The council also will have a business person as chairman or co-chairman and will have a significant number of business people on it, Herriott said.

“Obviously these have to be people of some influence. They have to be people who are respected,” Herriott said.

But the council will include more than just senior members of the state’s business community, said Palmetto Institute executive director Jim Fields.

“We want some young people. We want some new blood in this group that wants to drive forward in the new economy. We are looking across the board,” said Fields, who is a member of the steering committee.

The executive committee met Tuesday at financier Darla Moore’s Lake City farm to talk about the council. Members of the committee include Herriott, Moore, Faith, banker James Bennett, USC president Andrew Sorensen and Blue Cross/Blue Shield head Ed Sellers.

Herriott expects the executive committee to complete the structure and membership of the S.C. Council on Competitiveness in about 30 days, as well as have a start on naming committees to lead the eight campaigns.

The campaigns will focus on a range of issues, including helping develop industry clusters, developing economic plans for distressed areas and determining how to measure economic progress.

The campaigns could involve 300 to 400 people, Herriott said. Each campaign likely will be headed by a member of the steering committee.

The executive committee will establish a timetable to expedite the council’s work, Herriott said.

“We consider this to be an urgent mission that will in many ways define our state’s future, and our timetable will reflect that sense of urgency,” he said.